No Longer Alone
by ScrollofOTPs
Summary: Lucy has finally escaped her stuffy home life to go to Fairy Tail High, a school for the arts, but she'll need Natsu's help getting in. Please comment. I accept criticism, as long as it helps me improve. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

Lucy's eyes opened to yet another unfamiliar scene. After she had run away from home, it had been one hotel after another as she continued to move around, afraid of her father's far-reaching influence getting her caught and shipped off back home.

It wasn't that she didn't have a destination; she did. Fairy Tail High, a high school for aspiring artists of all kinds. Lucy had spent the months before her escape researching this prestigious school; it had top-quality courses in dance, music, art, poetry, theater, fashion design, and creative writing. Fairy Tail High was the one place Lucy could achieve her dream of being an author. It was the one place she felt that she could possibly fit in at.

Lucy slid out from between covers that were not the silk she was used to, instead a rough, coarse wool, meant more for warmth than comfort. However, in a way, she liked them more; they were a reminder of her long-awaited freedom.

Stumbling to the bathroom, Lucy took a quick, cold shower to wake her up, and wrapped herself in the not-so-fluffy white bath towel the cheap hotel provided, before walking out of the bathroom to get dressed.

She had brought just enough money to get by on, using some to purchase some clothes that weren't the huge frilly dresses she had grown up wearing. She used the rest for food, hotel rooms, and bus tickets.

In the first couple of weeks out in the real world, Lucy had been surprised at how much stuff cost. For clothes, she had had to settle for thrift stores and sale tags, and for food, fast food and complimentary hotel breakfasts.

After getting dresses and packing up all of her stuff, Lucy prepared to head out. She checked herself in the bathroom mirror really quick before she left. Blond side ponytail: check; blue crop-top and jacket: check; make-up: check. Being poor was no reason not to look good.

She stopped at a coffee shop for a muffin and some coffee before making her way to the bus stop. Today was a special day, because it was the day that she finally reached the town of Magnolia.

The long bus ride was torture. Lucy was ready to be there; ready to start being herself. Now that she was almost there, it felt as though even though she had run away from home a few weeks prior, she wouldn't be truly free until she reached the school of her dreams: Fairy Tail High.

The bus eventually screeched to a stop at her destination, and Lucy hopped out of the door with her suitcase in tow, ready to start her new life.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy stared with broken eyes at the door in front of her for a while before turning around to head back to her bus stop, muttering quietly to herself.

"A recommendation from one of the current or alum students? It didn't say anything about this on the website."

She thought back to her conversation with the headmaster, Master Makarov. "I'm sorry child, but in order for us to filter applications, all applicants must have a recommendation from a current or alum students. If you can find someone to recommend you, we will accept your application and allow you to showcase your skills, but until then I am afraid you cannot apply."

"But I-" Lucy had tried to think of a reason why she deserved to go there without a recommendation, but without throwing her father's money and title around, which she had sworn to herself not to do, there wasn't anything that set her apart from the other applicants.

"Child, I would love to have you here. I never object to new talent, but we would be swamped with applications without a condition, and that condition is a recommendation."

"Alright." Lucy had responded, holding back tears. She had gotten up and walked out of the Headmaster's office without another word.

Now Lucy stared up at the hotel room ceiling, finally out of tears. Reflecting on the conversation, her resolve returned. She sat up on the bed and said to herself, "I'm going to get into Fairy Tail. Like something small like a recommendation could get in the way of Lucy Heartfilia. I've spent enough time pitying myself, and now its time to find someone to recommend me." She stood up and marched to the door, almost forgetting to fix her make-up. She stopped just before her hand reached the doorknob, realizing that she probably looked a mess. She put off her goal for a few minutes in order to apply her make-up again before finally heading out.

"Ugh," Lucy slumped down into a booth at a diner after three hours of wandering around town, asking anyone who looked her age if they went to Fairy Tail and finding no one. She laid her head on her arms and groaned again. Who knew it could be so hard to find someone in this little town. Her resolve had turned into frustration. "Why does the universe hate me?" She whispered to herself.

"Well, I wouldn't say that. People always say that it's when you aren't searching that you find the lost remote...or something like that."

Lucy's head snapped up at the voice. Sitting across from her looking at her menu was a boy with pink hair who looked about her age.

"Do I know you?" Lucy asked the complete stranger. She glanced around, thinking maybe the diner had filled up and the spot across from her was the only one left. That wasn't the case; her table was still surrounded by empty ones.

"Nope." He said happily, as if it was completely normal for someone to just plop down at a stranger's table like they had been friends forever. "I'm Natsu Dragneel. Nice to meet you…" He looked at her expectantly.

"Lucy." Lucy was still confused. Why was this kid talking to her?

"Hey, should I get the hamburger or the fish'n'chips? What sounds better to you? Ah, doesn't matter, I'll just get them both."

"I hope you're paying for that appetite of yours." Lucy responded.

He looked up at her, surprised. "But I'm offering good conversation, the least you could do is pay for my food."

"I didn't ask for you to sit at my table. Why are you here, anyway?"

"Ummmm...I had a reason... Oh yeah!" His eyes light up as he remembers. "I saw you asking around for people from Fairy Tail, and so I followed you here."

_He forgot that? Wait...Fairy Tail?!_

"You go to Fairy Tail High?" Lucy asked, hope lighting up her eyes.

"Yep. I'm guessing you need a recommendation?" Lucy nodded enthusiastically. "I might be willing to give you one if you buy me dinner." Natsu leaned forward with a glint in his eyes like he was selling her something under the table.

"Deal." Lucy didn't even hesitate to accept his offer. Natsu leaned back, satisfied.

"So, what are you getting?" He asked, back to acting like they had known each other for forever.

"I think a salad." Lucy figured she should eat light, since it seemed like the pink-haired boy would be taking full advantage of the free meal.

"Cool. I'm going to get a hamburger, the fish'n'chips, some french fries and onion rings...ooh, and a slice of chocolate cake."

Lucy wondered how this boy could eat so much and still be so toned.

A half an hour later, Natsu was leaning back against the booth, rubbing his full stomach happily. "It's been awhile since I've eaten so well. Thanks Luigi!"

"It's Lucy." She replied through gritted teeth, trying to be polite in case he decided to take back his offer.

"Give me your hand." Natsu said suddenly, reaching for her.

"Why should I?" Lucy leaned away from the pink-haired boy.

"So I can give you my number, duh." Natsu rolled his eyes, as if it should have been obvious.

"Why do I need your number?" The blonde was getting more and more confused as the conversation continued.

The boy across from her sighed. "The recommendation."

"Oh." Lucy gave him her hand as he pulled a pen from his shirt pocket.

Noticing that she was looking at the pen, Natsu said, "I'm a songwriter. I take it with me everywhere."

"Oh."

Once Lucy had paid for the food, sighing while she did so at the state of her wallet, the two teens left the diner, and headed in opposite directions, Natsu back to the school dorms and Lucy to her hotel.

Before she went to bed, Lucy spent a few minutes looking at the number written on her hand. The day had been one long emotional rollercoaster, but she had pulled through. Tomorrow she would called the strange pink-haired boy and finally be able to apply to Fairy Tail.


	3. Chapter 3

Lucy woke up feeling fresh and happy. Today was the day her dreams would start coming true. She had no doubt that after the application process, she would be going to the school of her dreams: Fairy Tail High.

Once dressed, Lucy pulled out her phone, the one expensive thing she had taken from home, and called the number written on her hand.

"Hello?" His voice asked after three rings.

"Hi. It's Lucy...from last night. You said you would recommend me at Fairy Tail." Now that Lucy was talking to him, she was starting to feel a little awkward. She'd never had to ask anyone for anything before, and she didn't know how to go about it.

"Oh yeah! I did, didn't I? How about we meet at the school? I can talk to Gramps for you." Natsu sounded bright and awake, even though it was only about seven in the morning.

"Sounds good. I guess I'll meet you there then."

"Bye." Natsu hung up.

Lucy walked up to the gate that led to the courtyard of the school grounds, where Natsu was waiting on the other side.

"Hi Luigi!" He greeted her brightly, tilting his head with a grin.

"Lucy." She corrected in return. She wished this pink-haired idiot would just remember her name.

"Right." He opened up the gate to let her in and led her through the courtyard to the door of the actual school building, pulling it open to let her in. He was still smiling, and Lucy had to admit it helped her calm down a little.

The two walked into the headmaster's office where Master Makarov was sitting at a desk that looked way too big for him.

"Oh, hello Natsu. Lucy." He welcomed them with a smile. _At least _he _remembered my name,_ thought Lucy.

"Hiya Gramps!" Natsu said, plopping down into one of the chairs facing the headmaster's desk. "I'm giving a recommendation."

"I assumed that was so." The old man said patiently, obviously used to the pink-haired boy.

"How do I do that?" Lucy nearly face-palmed. This kid didn't even know how to recommend her?

"Lucy, I need you to fill out this sheet. Natsu, all you have to do is sign it." He handed me a sheet of paper with a questionnaire on it, and a black pen. "These questions are just to outline why you want to come to Fairy Tail, which area you want to specialize in, why you should be chosen, etc. Feel free to fill it out here."

Natsu and the headmaster talked while Lucy worked on the survey. _Why should Fairy Tail consider you for enrollment? (What makes your talent/dream special?)_ She froze, remembering her thought process the day before. There wasn't anything about her that made her special. Lucy made a split second decision, picked up the pen, and wrote her answer. _Nothing._ She almost crossed it out, but didn't, because she realized she didn't even have another option. She could lie, but it hardly seemed right to start the beginning of her life with deception.

She handed the sheet to Natsu for him to sign, and turned red when he started to read her answers. A few seconds later, he placed it on the table and signed it with a flourish, and Lucy felt her heart speed up. What if she just ruined her chances?

Natsu handed to sheet to Makarov, who also looked it over. After he was done, he glanced up at her and smiled, "I like your answers. Now all you have to do is provide us with a sample of your work. An audition, of sorts." He set the paper on his desk as a dismissal, but Lucy didn't stand yet.

"But I didn't have a reason as to why I deserve to go here." She was confused. She had been ready to be turned down.

He grinned, almost like a child. "That's good. We need more people like you here."

"People like me?"

"Modest." He cast a meaningful glance at the pink-haired boy sitting next to Lucy, but the subject of the look remained oblivious, just looking between the two people staring at him curiously.

"What?" He asked.

Master Makarov just sighed and looked back at Lucy. "How does a week sound? You said to wanted to go into creative writing, right? Do you think you will be able to write a short story by then?" Lucy nodded. "Alright. I'll see you then. Unless you have any more questions?"

"No. I'm alright. I'll be back in a week." Lucy smiled at happily before jumping up to head to the door, Natsu right behind her.

They walked out of the office and by the secretary's desk, Natsu throwing a quick, "Bye, Mira," over his shoulder at the young white-blond haired girl sitting there right before they walked out the door.

Lucy was practically skipping by this point. She was so close!

Natsu didn't say anything as they walked out of the school, but he kept sending glances at the now happy-go-lucky girl walking beside him. She was so different from the day before. Frustrated and upset had been replaced by happiness and excitement. Natsu decided he liked this side of her. Maybe when she started going to Fairy Tail, they could be friends.

The two teenagers separated several streets from the school grounds, saying goodbye before walking in their respective directions. Lucy paused to wonder where he was going, since she was pretty sure he lived on campus, but quickly dismissed it, her thoughts returning to the week ahead of her.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy stared at the half-filled-out piece of paper in front of her. Six days had passed since meeting with Master Makarov, and she was almost done with the sample work, except she couldn't get the ending quite right. This had to be perfect. It had to be her best work, or she might not be admitted into Fairy Tail. Surely there were a bunch of talented people enrolling. People more talented than her.

These thoughts hadn't even crossed her mind a week ago, but after bombing what seemed like countless endings, Lucy had spent a lot of time thinking over Makarov's comment about all the applications.

"Ugh." Lucy sat back in the hotel's wheeled chair. She had been cooped up in this hotel room to write, only pausing for food, bathroom, shower, and sleep breaks.

Maybe if she took a walk around Magnolia, she'd get some inspiration. Lucy jumped up and stalked out of the hotel, taking her story with her.

The blonde-haired girl found herself staring at the outside of a cute little cafe. _Gosh, what a cliche place to write._ Lucy walked in, got a coffee, and swung herself in a prime seat for people-watching. Not feeling very motivated to write at the moment, she found herself staring out at the people passing by. Magnolia was a quiet little place, and it reminded her of how her estate used to be. Quiet, but not painfully so. More like peaceful.

Lucy's mind wandered into the past.

"_Lucy dear, slow down. I can't keep up." Lucy's' mother was struggling to keep up in her heavy hoop skirt, while seven-year-old Lucy bounced around up ahead in her tutu, hopping nimbly from rock to rock._

_They were exploring the grounds around the mansion. The area was huge, not to mention quiet. Rarely anyone new showed up in this place, especially in this wooded area. Lucy loved the quiet. She could hear the birds, the wind blowing through the trees, and at night, the crickets and cicadas._

_Layla Heartfilia smiled down at her beautiful little girl. Even at seven, Lucy looked like a miniature version of her mother, with the same blond hair, brown eyes, and kind face._

_Little Lucy looked back at the blond woman on the rock path and smiled happily. At that moment it had felt like nothing ever would, no...could, change. Like everything would always just be her, her mother, and her father. Always happy._

Lucy felt a single tear make its way down her cheek. Back then, everything had been so simple. But once her mother died, everything spiraled downhill. Her father stopped paying attention to her, instead becoming absorbed in his work, and that eventually got to the point where he didn't even seem to care about her. The way Lucy saw it, the only time he acknowledged her existence was when she could benefit him and his company. That was why she left; why she had so desperately wanted to get away. That was the point the quiet became deafening.

A shock of pink hair outside the window brought Lucy back from the past. Her eyes followed Natsu as he made his way to the door of the cafe, seemingly not noticing her. When he was in the door, he walked up to the counter, chatted with the barista for a moment like they were old friends, was handed a coffee, and started to head in the direction of the blond.

Reaching her, he seemed surprised. "Lucy." _Finally, he got my name right._ "This is my seat." _Great, he's one of _those _people._

Lucy smiled and shifted her papers. "You can still sit here." He grinned and plopped down into the other seat, still not removing the scarf he always seemed to have on, despite the fact that they were inside.

He picked up one of her papers. It was one of the ones with the actual story on it. The other papers all either held the story, drafts of the story, or random notes and ideas.

Lucy reached forward and plucked it from his hands. "Haven't you ever heard of asking before touching other peoples' stuff?" she asked, a little annoyed.

"Oh. Can I see it?" He responded innocently.

"No." Lucy clutched the papers containing her actual story to her chest.

A surprised look crossed Natsu's face. "Why not? I asked."

"Yeah. _After_ you had already grabbed it. Plus, it's not done." The last sentence was delivered with a little less confidence on Lucy's part, like it was an embarrassing comment.

Natsu pouted. Lucy barely knew the guy and she was already starting to develop a fondness for him. Something about his goofy nature and friendly personality made him somehow...endearing.

Lucy smiled softly, the pink-haired boy's over-the-top-ness amusing her. He noticed and grinned happily.

"So...you changed your mind?" He held out his hand.

Lucy's smile disappeared. "No."

However, despite her annoyance, Lucy still felt an indescribable feeling starting to grow inside her. Something told her she wouldn't be feeling alone for much longer.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy paused at the door to the office, her hands trembling, as well as the papers she held with them. She took a deep breath and opened the door. This was it. The moment that decided it all. It was scary.

The white-blonde haired girl who sat at the secretary's desk looked up as Lucy walked in. "You're back!" She greeted kindly. "Headmaster Makarov is in his office. You can just walk right in."

"Thank you…" Lucy trailed off, not knowing the girl's name.

"Mirajane. You can call me Mira." She smiled.

"Thanks Mira." Lucy walked into Makarov's office, placing one foot in front of the other.

"Hello Lucy."

Lucy held out the completed story, and he took it gently, smiling at her.

He started reading over it, and Lucy just fidgeted, nervous that he was reading it right there. He glanced up and told her to sit down, before going back to reading her work. Lucy sat, and waited.

A few minutes later, he glanced up and grinned. "I love it. Let's get you enrolled."

Lucy jaw dropped. "Right now?!" She had expected it to take a lot longer, but it seemed Makarov was the one who made all the decisions. No thorough double- and triple-checking. No giving a bunch of contact information. Nothing. Not even an orientation. Lucy could tell that she would like this impromptu style of school. It was definitely a far cry from the stuffy private schools Lucy had gone to before, where they did background checks on the students and catalogued their fingerprints.

Makarov nodded and Lucy lit up. "What do I have to do?"

The next day, Lucy showed up at Fairy Tail Academy for her first official day. She walked to the office to meet Mira, who was going to walk her to her first class and introduce her.

Mirajane handed her her schedule, and Lucy glanced at it. Her first class was Writing Workshop. She grinned. It was hard to believe that this was actually happening.

Mira led her to a classroom full of students who all looked up at the newcomer when she entered. Lucy's face turned pink at all the eyes on her.

The teacher also looked to the two girls in the doorway.

"Hello Mira. Is this the new student?"

"Yep!" She answered brightly. "This is Lucy."

Lucy waved shyly. "Welcome Lucy. My name is Macao. All of my students call me by name. You can sit next to Ms. McGarden."

A petite blue-haired girl waved from the back of the room, and Lucy ducked her head and walked to sit next to her.

"Hi. I'm Levy." She introduced herself with a smile.

"Nice to meet you."

Mira left, and the class continued. Macao talked about Plot Development, and how to plan out a story in an organized manner. Lucy found it extremely interesting that students weren't afraid to talk to him like an equal. They even made fun of him. Lucy was used to teachers always being treated with the utmost respect: never referred to by their first name, being called sir or ma'am, and most certainly _not_ joked around with.

The blonde was ecstatic. She had really, truly escaped. This life was nothing like her old one, and Lucy loved it.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Levy interrupted her thoughts.

Lucy looked at the girl next to her. "No reason. Just happy."

Levy smiled. "I know what you mean. It's a great school, right?"

The blonde girl nodded.

By the end of class, Lucy and Levy were practically best friends. Lucy was thrilled that she had only just started at Fairy Tail and she had already made a friend.

The two girls looked at Lucy's schedule. "Awww. Our next classes aren't together." Levy complained. "Room 212 is on the second floor, right next to the staircase. Characterization is a lot of fun. You are going to love Elfman. He's Mira's brother." The petite girl said goodbye and walked off to her next class, leaving Lucy to follow her directions.

She made it to her next class quickly, but still getting there only just before the bell.

Lucy walked up to the teacher, a large white-haired man with a scar underneath his right eye.

She looked up at him. "Hello. My name is Lucy. I'm new."

"New students are manly!" was his odd response. "Welcome to Characterization!" The way he talked made every sentence seem to end with an exclamation point. "You can sit next to Juvia."

The girl Elfman gestured to had blue hair, like Levy, but it was curled at the ends. Juvia wore a blue dress and a sad expression on her face.

Lucy sat next to her, and Juvia just watched her. "Hi. Juvia, huh? I like your name."

The sullen girl only nodded.

Once class started, Elfman took roll, yelling everyone's name. Then he started on about manly personality types. Everyone seemed to have heard it before, and would interrupt him to finish his sentences, to which he would act surprised ("That's right! It's _manly_!") Levy had been right, this class was fun.

Juvia had spent the entire class period writing 'Mrs. Gray Fullbuster' on a blank notebook page in different fonts. Once class ended, the two of them packed up and walked out.

Third period was PE in the gym. Lucy had never been to such a chaotic class: the teacher, Mr. Gildarts, had an obsession with dangerous and damaging sports, like dodgeball, and tackle football.

Once Lucy had found the gym and changed into her rented uniform. She and Levy, who she had this class with, walked into the large room and waited for everyone to arrive.

"Lucy!" A familiar voice called out.

Lucy turned around to see Natsu grinning and waving at her, wearing a gym uniform, as well as his scarf.

Levy answered before Lucy. "You two know each other?"

"Yeah. he recommended me." Lucy responded, a little meekly.

The pink-haired boy's grin widened, but then fell away when a boy with dark blue hair walked up. He was missing his shirt.

It was obvious that the two of them didn't like each other, and Levy started to pull Lucy away. "Those two will be fighting within five minutes." She whispered to her new friend.

"Who is that guy?" Lucy asked.

"Gray Fullbuster. He and Natsu are enemies. And friends...when they're not fighting, which is never." Levy laughed, and Lucy laughed with her.

Levy's prediction was accurate, as pretty soon the two boys were in a full out brawl, although it ended quickly when a tough-looking girls walked in.

She had long red hair and a serious look on her face, and when her eyes turned to Natsu and Gray, they immediately stopped fighting and threw their arms around each other, huge grins appearing on their faces. At this, the serious look faded into a satisfied one, and her eyes wandered the rest of the gym, finally coming to rest on Lucy.

When she started to walk over, Lucy gulped. This girl was scary, just in the confident, threatening way she carried herself.

When she reached Lucy, the girl smiled. "Hi. I'm Erza Scarlet. You must be new."

The blonde nodded, less afraid now that Erza had smiled. "I'm Lucy."

The pink- and blue-haired boys that had just been fighting walked up to them, arms still tossed over each other's shoulders.

"Glad to see you boys are still the best of friends." Erza greeted them, a threatening glint in her eye, but a smile still on her face.

"Aye!" They answered simultaneously. Levy was just laughing silently next to Lucy.

It was pretty funny, and soon enough, all five of them were laughing, like they had been friends forever. For the first time, Lucy felt accepted, and it was the best feeling in the world.


	6. Chapter 6

A few weeks later, Lucy walked with her tray to the lunch table where her four best friends were sitting (as well as Juvia, because she was always following Gray around).

She sat down in between Levy and Natsu to a bunch of happy greetings from everyone (except for Juvia's response of "Love Rival," as she tightened her hold on Gray's arm. Somewhere along the way, she had gotten it into her head that Lucy was also in love with Gray.)

Since she had started at Fairy Tail, Lucy had really loosened up. She smiled now more than she ever had before, even when she was "mad" at one of her friends (mostly Natsu; he didn't know the definition of personal space). She had also adopted her own style of crop-tops and miniskirts; she loved the freedom these clothes gave her, as it was a contrast to the huge, heavy dresses she had been forced to wear for her entire life.

She had gotten used to Natsu and Gray always butting heads. Those two were like fire and ice: almost exact opposites, both in their looks and in their personalities. Gray was guarded and somewhat expressionless (except when fighting with Natsu) and Natsu was an open book: hotheaded and childlike.

And then there was Erza. Despite having known her for a few weeks now, Lucy was still afraid of the red-headed girl. She was fierce and independent. Actually, pretty much everyone was scared of her. This was for good reason, as she was strong...scary strong. She could _be_ her own team in gym and still win. Lucy was surprised that she hadn't sent anyone to the hospital during dodgeball.

Levy was the easiest to get used to. She was quiet and kind, and genuinely interested in other people's lives. She wanted to be the first to read Lucy's book-in-progress.

Lastly was Juvia. Lucy didn't know her well, but she was _attached_ to Gray. The blue-haired boy seemed to have no idea that she considered him more than a friend, which was odd, since to everyone else it was painfully obvious. She was also convinced that Lucy planned to steal Gray from her. She took "possessive" to a whole new level. But despite all of this, Lucy kind of liked the girl. When she wasn't being possessive of Gray and suspicious of Lucy, of course.

So far, no one had been purposely cruel to Lucy. In fact, everyone had been very welcoming. It was so unlike her past schools, where people were treated differently based on the amount of money their family owned (and scholarship students were practically stepped on), that Lucy felt almost uncomfortable, even though she had never been bullied there. Quite the opposite in fact; her family was so important that she was all-but idolized.

All these things ran through Lucy's mind, as they had done many times since starting at Fairy Tail, as she placed small, polite bites of her food into her mouth. That was one thing that hadn't changed about Lucy: her eating habits. She was, by far, the cleanest eater at the table. Natsu and Grey shoved huge bite after huge bite into their mouths, barely waiting until they were done swallowing before shovelling another big forkful in. Levy and Juvia weren't so bad, but they talked through their food on occasion. Erza, however, was almost as bad as the boys. She was a fan of efficiency, and so put as much food as she could into her mouth with each bite, except when it came to her cake. Once she was done with the actual food, she would spend the rest of the lunch period happily savoring each and every bite of the sweet, which was seemingly made specially for her, as no one else was even offered cake.

Not that Lucy had a problem with any of this; it was a part of them as much as the way she ate was a part of her.

Soon, lunch period was over, and the five of them separated to head to their respective classes. Natsu and Lucy walked together, since they both had Math next. Yes, this school of the arts still had Math, as well as Science and History (but not English, since Master Makarov figured that they'd suffered through the same curriculum every year for long enough). These classes were, after all, a requirement in high school.

They reached class and took their seats next to each other. On the first day, the teacher,

Cana Alberona, had taken one look at the two of them, grinned, and placed them next to each other. No one was really sure why Cana was the Math teacher, or really a teacher at all, since it didn't seem like her type of job. She was pretty much always drinking, which should have been against the rules but for some reason was allowed. However, despite all of this, she never acted drunk.

Lucy really liked Cana. While she didn't really teach, just assigned activities, she was a lot of fun. Loud and boisterous, the brown-haired woman had a lot of stories to tell. Lucy also liked how she didn't seem to care about the rules, and looked up to her for it.

Cana copied a bunch of problems onto the board for the assignment before sitting back on her desk expectantly, waiting for them to finish, while taking large gulps from her bottle, as little effect on her as if it was water.

The class proceeded with a bunch of questions from Natsu to Lucy on how to do this, or what is this minus that. Lucy eventually snapped at him, telling him to use his calculator, but that didn't last long, as soon he was back at it again. A little after halfway through the class, Cana hopped off of her desk and walked around the class, peering over people's shoulders at their work and nodding approvingly, like she knew what she was doing, which Lucy strongly suspected she didn't.

There was about ten minutes before the end of class by the time everyone finished all the problems, and Natsu sighed in relief, glad that he didn't have to exert his brain anymore. He sat back in his chair, lifting the front two legs off the ground and balancing like that. When he caught Lucy's eye, he gave that familiar ear-to-ear grin, and her heart skipped a beat. The beginning inklings of something were slowly growing, and Lucy couldn't decide if she liked it.


	7. Chapter 7

Lucy and Levy were walking around town together that weekend, talking and laughing over ice cream as they goofed around and window-shopped. This was another new experience that came with Fairy Tail, window-shopping. She used to spend a ton of money whenever she went out-which, admittedly, was rarely-so not spending _any_ was new and weird.

It was surprisingly fun just to try stuff on with no intention of buying any of it; the two of them tried on outrageous outfits no one in their right minds would ever seriously buy. They paired huge fluffy skirts with clashing, free-flowing shirts and floppy hats and sandals. Afterwards they would pose to each other and take goofy pictures and laugh, harder than Lucy ever thought was possible, to the point of seeing stars and attracting odd glances from all the other shoppers.

Finally, the two girls crashed down onto a bench in a small park area in the middle of town, rubbing their sore feet and giggling tiredly, clutching their already-sore stomachs.

Lucy was grinning uncontrollably. She had never had so much fun in her life. She looked over at Levy, who was groaning and massaging her feet, but still smiling. When she looked over and saw Lucy grinning at her, her smile widened, and they both burst out laughing, leaning against each other for support as they were deprived of oxygen.

Eventually, they got up the strength to walk back to campus, where their dorm rooms were.

They were slowly making their way across the green of the school lawns when Levy stopped dead in her tracks. She frantically checked each of her pockets before turning her frightened eyes to meet Lucy's confused and worried ones. "I think I left my phone on the bench!" She gasped, before turning to head back.

"Do you want me to some with you?" Lucy asked.

"No. You head back to the dorm. It'll only take me a minute."And with that, the blue-haired girl raced off, and Lucy continued ambling back to the girls' dorm.

Lucy fell asleep as soon as she got to Levy's room (she lived off campus and was only sleeping over with Levy), so she wasn't awake to notice that Levy didn't come back, and it wasn't until the next morning that she started to worry.

Lucy woke up the next morning feeling new and refreshed. She had slept well, and the soreness in her feet had all but gone away. Once she had finally finished completely waking up, her brow wrinkled when she realized the room was empty. Levy wouldn't have gone to breakfast without her, would she?

She changed out of yesterdays clothes (she had been too tired to change into pajamas the night before) and into the clothes she had packed for herself. Then, she headed down to breakfast, assuming Levy had left while she was asleep.

She found the others sitting at their table, except Levy didn't seem to be there yet. The five friends had made a routine of meeting for breakfast here on Sundays, and Lucy and Levy had planned to arrive together.

The group at the table looked up when Lucy approached them, and confusion flickered across each of their faces as they each noticed Levy wasn't with her. Natsu noticed last. "Hey. Where's Levy?" he asked, eyes wide as he leaned to peer around Lucy, like the blue-haired girl was hiding behind her.

"I thought she was down here with you guys." Lucy was starting to seriously worry, as were the others. Where was their happy-go-lucky friend?

Lucy led her friends to the bench where she and Levy had sat yesterday. They had skipped breakfast in fear that, in waiting, something awful would happen to Levy.

They fanned out to search in pairs: Lucy and Erza, and Gray and Natsu.

Lucy and Erza were looking around in the park when they spotted familiar blue. They rushed over to find Levy slumped against a tree, beat up. Lucy rushed forward, closely followed by Erza, who was pulling out her phone to call Natsu and let him and Gray know they had found Levy.

The blue-haired bookworm looked terrible. She was covered in bruises and her lip was bleeding. Once Natsu and Gray arrived, the four friends carried Levy back to the campus infirmary, where she was tended to by Kinana, a young, purple-haired girl who was quiet and kind to everybody.

Natsu, Lucy, Gray, and Erza waited by their friend's bedside until she woke up. Natsu spent the whole time ranting about how he would crush whoever did this to someone he cared about. Lucy just stared at Levy, all the while thinking that this was her fault; if she had gone looking for Levy's phone with her, none of this would have happened. Gray and Erza worried and, like Natsu, plotted revenge, although they did it silently.

Eventually, Levy woke up with a groan, opened her eyes, and then startled at her friends all gathered around her, pressing too close to her. They had all jumped up and leaned forward once they had noticed she was waking up, and were crowding her.

When the four teenagers noticed their infirmed friend's discomfort, they sat back down, but they were still tense, ready to spring back up if she needed something.

Finally, Natsu spoke. "Who did this to you?" he practically growled, causing Levy's eyes to widen in surprise.

When she responded, her voice was a little hoarse. "Phan..tom," she croaked, and Natsu's eyes narrowed. Phantom Lord was a rival school, with a reputation almost as good as Fairy Tail's. Only thing was, they were known for being brutal, and enjoyed _crushing_ the competition, going far beyond the normal school rivalry. Levy noticed Natsu's rising anger, and rushed to calm him. "It's o..k… Really Natsu.. I'm….fine." Except she wasn't. And Natsu wasn't the only angry one. All four of the Fairy Tail students sitting around her bed were fuming, the anger growing rapidly inside of them.

Phantom Lord was going to regret this.


	8. Chapter 8

A week later, Levy was released from the infirmary, and her friends hadn't made any progress on their revenge plan, seeing as how Levy didn't remember exactly who it was who beat her up.

Natsu was particularly frustrated. "We'll take on the whole school if we have to!" Lucy could just imagine fire spewing from his angry lips. The others were just as angry, but they just let Natsu voice it for them. Whenever anyone would mention Phantom Lord or what happened to Levy, Erza would clench her hand into a fist a few times, like she wished she had a weapon, Gray's eyes would harden to ice and he would appear as though he were glaring at the person who spoke, and Lucy would glance up as if asking the stars why someone had to bring it up again.

All Levy could remember of her attacker was black hair and the gleam of dark metal. She had never clearly seen his face, so that was all she was able to give her revenge-driven friends.

Although she would admit it to no one, Levy was getting tired of it all. She was tired of being treated as if she would have to be rushed back to the infirmary on a gurney any moment. She was tired of her friends obsessing over getting back at the boy who had attacked her. She loved her friends and appreciated what they were trying to do, but she just wanted everything to go back to normal.

However, normal was out of the question.

A few days after the blue-haired girl started class again, the school was vandalized. In the middle of the night, someone had graffitied a side of the building, nastily insulting Fairy Tail. They had smashed a few of the windows, emptied trash cans of awful-smelling gunk across the lawn, and broken some extremely expensive equipment that was stored in one of the rooms with a broken window. Finally, as a last straw, they had spray-painted an impossibly large symbol that looked like a spiked eye with a tail; Phantom Lord's logo.

When Lucy's group saw the damage, the anger that they had been feeling for over a week reached a boiling point. Juvia was the only one who didn't look ready to murder someone. She just looked sad. When Lucy noticed, she was able to set aside thoughts of revenge for her newfound school to ask her blue-haired frenemy what was wrong.

For once, Juvia didn't look at Lucy like competition. She looked at her, her dark-blue eyes a little distant. "I used to go to Phantom Lord." Lucy's own eyes widened. This meek girl used to attend a school that did things like _this_? "I never realized they would go this far." Juvia turned her gaze to the damaged school.

"Why did you choose to come to Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked, hoping this would distract her from the damage caused by her former classmates.

She was right. Instantly her lights lit up, the way they did when she was talking to, looking at, or thinking about Gray. "It was fate! There was a writing competition between our schools, and Gray-sama and I were against each other. But I immediately fell in love and I couldn't bear fighting him! So I switched schools, and here we are." Juvia sighed lovingly. Lucy admired her devotion. Every time Juvia spoke of Gray, all traces of shyness disappeared, and she became so animated. Lucy could only hope she would find someone she cared about that much.

Natsu interrupted Lucy's thoughts, rushing over to Juvia. "You used to go to Phantom Lord, right?" The blue-haired girl's face fell back to guilt, like she was responsible for this. Natsu, clueless as ever, pushed on thoughtlessly. "Do you know who did this?"

She turned her eyes to the ground in thought, and after a moment they widened, and she kneeled and picked up something that flashed with a dull, metallic sheen. "I know who it was." She looked back up at Lucy and Natsu. "Gajeel Redfox."


End file.
